In its first week since release, Opera 10 with Turbo Browsing has been downloaded more than 10 million times, Opera Software announced today.

"While we have consistently grown in our download rates with each consecutive launch, Opera 10 has far exceeded any previous record we had," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "To us, this means that Opera 10 delivers a more compelling reason to choose Opera, and that reason is Opera Turbo. The concept of turbo browser was the result of our One Web initiative, as our goal is to ensure that Web browser is fast, efficient, and universal, anytime, anywhere."

For those of you who might have missed it before, Opera's Turbo mode is a cross-platform solution that compresses up to 80 percent of network traffic. Dial-up users stand to benefit the most, but even broadband users and WiFi roamers should see performance gains by flipping the Turbo switch.

Opera Software finally jumps into the next-gen browser wars today by releasing Opera 10, the company's latest browser, which was first made available in beta form just three months ago.

Out of all the new features -- and there are several -- it's the Opera Turbo compression technology that the browser's developers sound most stoked about. Should you find your internet speed drastically reduced for any reason or get stuck on a sluggish Wi-Fi connection, enabling Opera Turbo mode purports to speed up Web surfing up to eight times faster than other browsers.

"Opera Turbo is our newest innovation, and one we think everyone should try, because we all will face a slow connection at some point," said Jon von Tetzchner, Opera's CEO.

It was found to have blocked 81% of live malware threats during the tests. The figure seems more imposing once you learn that the runner-up, Firefox 3, only managed to block 27% of malware threats. To boot, Microsoft’s browser also managed to block 83% of phishing URLs, with Firefox finishing second with 80%.

But Ars Technica has cast doubts over the veracity of the tests. The heavily lopsided nature of the results is not the only thing to blame for its skepticism. Amy Barzdukas, General Manager of Internet Explorer, told Ars Technica that the tests had been sponsored by Microsoft. Apparently, it ended up becoming the lone sponsor, as other companies didn’t respond to NSS Labs’ call for funding. Microsoft claims to have had no control over the results.

Opera Software today has made available for download the third beta version of its Opera 10 browser software. Performance and stability were prioritized for the latest release, Opera says.

"For us, it is a resounding success when more than one million people use your beta and are excited enough to give us so much actionable feedback," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "This third beta comes after a lot of careful improvements. We have never released such a solid piece of technology that not only runs seamlessly, but is so nice to look at as well. I am proud of this release, and I hope that the Web-using world will benefit from a browser that is truly ready to do some heavy lifting."

New features also find their way into Opera 10 Beta 3. These include tab tweaks such as more options for tab placement and the ability to view visual thumbnail tabs on the right or left side of the screen, a "more efficient" UI, support for up to 38 languages, crash prevention through an integrated crash logger, and refinements to Opera Turbo.